Another big bowl appearance! I predict against the Fighting Irish somewhere on New Years Day.


http://hailtopurple.com/cde/bowls.html

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

It would be great if they could play on NYD.

Almost any other Big Ten team with a 9-3 record and seven game win streak would be a lock for the day. The Cats are never an attractive option for bowl organizers.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yeah,you are correct. I always laugh when I hear that the fans show up for bowl games. NU has a lot of Alumni that can afford going to a bowl game. They just can't fill that tiny stadium during the season.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

True dat. I went to the Outback bowl against Tennessee a couple of years ago. Not a great showing for the Purple. We do travel a bit better than our home attendance might indicate. Alumni are all over (and are from all over). We knew we were gonna get rolled. I think the money is on the Holiday Bowl in San Diahgo, which is German, I'm told. Outside chance for Citrus, but can't imagine that one happening!

On a side note, I went to the first round of the NCAA hoops tournament in Salt Lake City last year. First time ever that I witnessed NU fans outnumbering the opposing fans 4-to-1. I know it was very special circumstances, but nonetheless, it was a pretty cool feeling. I'm guessing that's what its like to be an Ohio State fan

The total number of alumni is miniscule compared to every other Big Ten team.

Also, there is nothing really distinguishable about the team. There is no exciting and innovative offense or punishing defense. The team doesn't have a character for which a casual fan can identify. Finally, they always seem to blow an early season game they should win, losing all momentum for fans before mid September.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I was working during the Illini vs a Cat game and that first score came through and I was like yep, here’s that game they blow but I guess I was wrong and it was just the Duke game this year. Fng Duke. Age old tradition it seems.

I think the fan base travels well enough but yeah, it just doesn’t have the alumni base of the larger state schools or much of history to develop a non affiliated fan base. It has been a decent 20 year run or so though. Just nothing spectacular.

I think they have a great lead story... A local Chicago kid, Justin Jackson, that just jumped passed names like Montee Ball, Herschel Walker, and LaDainian Tomlinson on the NCAA rushing leaderboard.